Every year, before 1 March, thousands of French companies publish their gender equality index (index de l’égalité professionnelle). Behind the score out of 100 lies a more technical calculation than it seems: choosing the reference period, employees to exclude, pay items to include, groupings by category. A scope error is enough to distort an indicator, and therefore the score, with consequences for the company’s obligations. This article covers the role of the index, the companies concerned, the calculation indicator by indicator, the publication and correction rules, and the most frequent errors.
What the index is for
A tool for measuring gaps
The gender equality index measures, using a few standardised indicators, the gaps between women and men in the company: pay, pay rises, promotions, return from maternity leave and access to the highest salaries. The Labour Code, in Article L1142-8 🔗, requires employers to publish these indicators every year along with the actions taken to eliminate the gaps.
A score that triggers obligations
The score, out of 100 points, is not just information. Below certain thresholds, it obliges the company to set targets or implement corrective measures, under penalty of sanctions.
A topic set to change
The European pay transparency directive provides for new disclosure obligations on pay gaps. Its transposition into French law is expected to reshape the index; in the meantime, the current rules apply, and they are the subject of this article.
The companies concerned
The 50-employee threshold
According to the Service Public Entreprendre page on the index 🔗, the index is mandatory for any company with at least 50 employees during the past year. A company that crosses this threshold has a period of time before its first declaration.
Two scales depending on size
The calculation varies with headcount:
- from 50 to 250 employees, the index has four indicators;
- above 250 employees, it has five, with the pay rise indicator separated from the promotion indicator.
Calculation on Egapro
The Ministry of Labour provides the Egapro 🔗 service, on which the index is calculated and declared. It is the reference tool: even if you prepare the data in a spreadsheet, the declaration is made on this platform.
The indicators one by one
The reference period
The employer chooses a period of twelve consecutive months preceding the year of publication. Data for all indicators is calculated over this period. The pay rise indicator may, under conditions, be calculated over a multi-year period.
Employees to exclude
The following are not taken into account: apprentices, employees on professionalisation contracts, workers made available by an outside company, expatriate employees and employees absent for more than half the reference period. This is one of the first sources of error.
The pay to include
Each employee’s pay is reconstructed on a full-time-equivalent basis. Certain sums are excluded: dismissal and retirement payments, bonuses linked to particular working conditions (cold-work allowance, on-call allowance), seniority bonuses, overtime and additional hours, profit-sharing. Collective bonuses paid to everyone and variable items linked to individual performance (bonuses, commissions) are, however, included.
The scale
For companies with 50 to 250 employees, the official page details four indicators:
- the pay gap between women and men, out of 40 points;
- the gap in individual pay rise rates, out of 35 points;
- the share of women given a pay rise in the year after returning from maternity leave, out of 15 points;
- the number of employees of the under-represented sex among the ten highest earners, out of 10 points.
Above 250 employees, the pay rise gap is scored out of 20 points and a promotion rate gap indicator, scored out of 15 points, is added.
Grouping by category
The pay gap is calculated by comparable groups, defined by age band and socio-professional category, or by the industry classification or a job evaluation method, after consulting the CSE works council. The choice of grouping method has a direct effect on the result: it must be documented and stable from one year to the next.
Publication and corrective measures
Publication
The index and the results of each indicator are:
- declared on Egapro, no later than 1 March;
- published on the company’s website, visibly and legibly, by the same date;
- included in the economic, social and environmental database made available to the CSE, with the relevant methodological details.
Between 75 and 85 points
The company must set improvement targets for each indicator where it did not obtain the maximum score, and publish them.
Below 75 points
The company must implement corrective measures, which may include financial pay catch-up measures. They are defined as part of the negotiation on gender equality or, failing that, by the employer after consulting the CSE, then published. A company that stays below this threshold for several consecutive years faces a financial penalty, as does one that fails to declare its index.
HR’s role
HR prepares the data, carries out the calculation, writes the methodological note, presents the results to the CSE and, with leadership, steers the measures and targets. The person in charge of compensation and benefits often plays a central role; our article on the comp & ben CV describes this job.
Frequent calculation errors
Scope errors
- forgetting to exclude employees absent for more than half the period;
- including work-study students or temporary workers;
- calculating on headcount on the last day rather than over the reference period.
Pay errors
- including overtime or seniority bonuses;
- forgetting individual bonuses;
- not reconstructing part-time pay on a full-time-equivalent basis.
Method errors
- changing the grouping method from one year to the next without documenting it;
- forgetting to consult the CSE when the chosen method requires it;
- not explaining indicators that cannot be calculated in the publication.
Good practice
Prepare a control file, with one row per employee and the necessary columns (sex, category, age band, working time, reconstructed pay, pay rise, promotion), then compare your results with those of the official tool. Our article on Excel for HR details the functions useful for this kind of file.
What this work says about you on a CV
Calculating and publishing the index, then steering corrective measures, is a sought-after task in compensation, diversity and inclusion and among HR managers. Write it with its scope: “Calculated and declared the gender equality index on Egapro for two companies, methodological note, presentation to the CSE and follow-up of improvement targets.” The diversity and inclusion officer CV example and the compensation and benefits manager CV example show how to include it, and our article on the diversity and inclusion CV details the rest of the profile. When your lines are ready, create your CV for free: the editor takes care of the layout, and the exported PDF stays readable by screening software.
Sources
- Service Public Entreprendre, Gender equality index 🔗: companies concerned, calculation, scales, publication, corrective measures and sanctions.
- Code du travail numérique, Article L1142-8 🔗 and Article D1142-2 🔗.
- Ministry of Labour, Egapro 🔗: calculation and declaration of the index.
Frequently asked questions
Does the index apply to companies with fewer than 50 employees?
No. Companies with fewer than 50 employees are not required to calculate or publish the index, although they remain subject to the principle of equal pay.
What if an indicator cannot be calculated?
This can happen, for example if no employee returned from maternity leave during the period. The indicator is then declared as not calculable, with an explanation, and the score is recalculated according to the applicable rules.
Who validates the grouping method?
The employer chooses, but some methods (industry classification or job evaluation) require prior consultation of the CSE. Keep a record of this consultation.
Is the index going to disappear?
The transposition of the European pay transparency directive is expected to change it. Until the transposition law is adopted, the current index remains mandatory.